Coccidiosis caused by Eimeria tenella remains a major economic constraint in poultry production, and rising anticoccidial drug resistance has intensified interest in phytogenic alternatives. This study evaluated a polyherbal mixture (PHM) combining Moringa oleifera, Azadirachta indica, Psidium guajava, and Curcuma longa against experimental E. tenella infection in Sonali chickens. Thin-layer chromatography of the four extracts and their combination identified gallic acid, catechin, curcumin, and alkaloids as consistent phytoconstituents. 72 birds were allocated into six groups - uninfected and infected controls, a commercial anticoccidial group, and three PHM doses (1.0, 0.5, 0.25 mL/L drinking water) - and monitored for average weight gain (AWG), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and oocyst shedding as oocysts per gram (OPG) at 9 and 14 days post-infection (DPI). The 0.25 mL/L dose produced the most efficient FCR, lowest OPG at both time points, and highest AWG by 14 DPI despite the lowest early gain, consistent with a non-linear, inverse dose-response reflecting a shift from a beneficial to a less-tolerated phytochemical exposure level. Relative expression of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin-10 (IL-10), and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in cecal tissue showed early IL-10 suppression and TLR4 downregulation at 9 DPI, followed by significant IFN-γ upregulation and IL-10 recovery by 14 DPI, while TLR4 remained suppressed. STRING-based protein-protein interaction analysis identified direct, high-confidence associations among the three genes and enrichment in defense-response and Toll-like receptor signaling pathways, supporting a functionally coordinated immune module. These findings indicate that low-dose PHM exerts anticoccidial efficacy through a time-resolved immunomodulatory mechanism, positioning it as a promising, sustainable alternative to conventional anticoccidials for commercial Sonali chicken production.

The guinea pig (Cavia porcellus (Linnaeus, 1758)) is a popular companion animal and an important laboratory model. Gastrointestinal and hepatic endoparasites are documented in this host across companion, laboratory and production settings, but the available evidence is methodologically heterogeneous and should be interpreted at study level. This structured narrative review summarizes parasite diversity, host-specific clinical evidence, diagnostic approaches and epidemiological findings. Particular emphasis is placed on separating parasite detection from infection intensity and attributable clinical disease, and on avoiding zoonotic inference without species-, genotype- or assemblage-level evidence. Across the reviewed literature, Paraspidodera uncinata and Eimeria spp. are recurrent findings, while molecular studies have refined interpretation of Cryptosporidium, Giardia and Balantioides. A source-level audit of epidemiological studies highlights substantial variation in analysis units and diagnostic methods, including pooled farm samples, individual fecal samples, post-mortem examinations and molecular assays. These differences preclude direct regional prevalence comparisons. Future studies should report explicit numerators, denominators, units of analysis, diagnostic endpoints and molecular resolution to improve comparability and One Health interpretation.

Ascaridia galli (A. galli) is an important intestinal nematode of chickens, but the host immune, oxidative, and pathological responses associated with natural infection remain incompletely characterized. This study aimed to provide an integrated molecular, immunological, oxidative, and histopathological evaluation of naturally occurring A. galli infection in Baladi chickens in Cairo, Egypt. A total of 200 Baladi chickens from farmers' households in rural areas of Cairo Governorate were examined between January and June 2026. Gastrointestinal helminths were recovered and identified, and 40 adult nematodes were subjected to molecular confirmation by amplification and bidirectional sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer-1 (ITS-1) region. Phylogenetic analysis was performed to assess the identity of the recovered isolate. Cytokine gene expression and intestinal oxidative stress were evaluated in infected and non-infected birds. Expression of IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TGF-β, and IFN-γ was quantified by real-time PCR in five birds per group, while intestinal malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), reduced glutathione (GSH), and catalase (CAT) were assessed as oxidative and antioxidant markers. After serological and molecular screening for concurrent infections, six infected and six non-infected chickens that were free from evidence of other infections were selected for histopathological examination, lesion scoring, intestinal morphometry, and TNF-α immunohistochemistry. A. galli was detected in 90 of 200 chickens, giving an overall prevalence of 45% ((95% CI: 38.1-52.1%). The obtained ITS-1 sequence (GenBank accession PZ363554) clustered within the A. galli clade and showed 99.57-100% nucleotide identity with reference A. galli sequences. Compared with controls, infected birds showed significant upregulation of IL-6 (28.8-fold), IL-8 (30.5-fold), IL-10 (55.9-fold), TGF-β (7.8-fold), and IFN-γ (2.2-fold), with IL-10 showing the greatest increase. Intestinal MDA and NO increased 1.44- and 1.80-fold, respectively, whereas GSH and CAT decreased to 0.76- and 0.28-fold of control levels. Histopathology revealed marked villous degeneration, sloughing and shortening, glandular degeneration, fibrosis, muscular hypertrophy, vascular alterations, and inflammatory cell infiltration. TNF-α immunoreactivity was increased in infected tissues, and morphometric analysis demonstrated alterations in villus dimensions, crypt depth, and the villus-to-crypt ratio. Natural A. galli infection was therefore associated with molecularly confirmed parasitism, altered inflammatory and regulatory cytokine expression, intestinal oxidative imbalance, and pronounced tissue injury in Baladi chickens. This work provides a foundation for experimental studies designed to unravel the causal relationships among these endpoints.

Haemonchus contortus is a major gastrointestinal nematode affecting sheep and causing substantial economic losses. Nutritional strategies like zinc supplementation may enhance host resilience and immune responses. This study evaluated the effects of zinc oxide microparticles (ZnO-MC) and nanoparticles (ZnO-NP) on parasitological, histopathological, and mucosal responses in infected lambs. Fifty-nine Santa Ines lambs were allocated into three groups: unsupplemented control, ZnO-MC, or ZnO-NP. Infected animals received 1200 H. contortus L3 weekly for 24 weeks. Parasitological parameters, weight gain, histopathology, mucosal thickness, PAS staining, and abomasal cell infiltration were evaluated. ZnO-NP showed the lowest numerical means for all parasite developmental stages and reduced the number of adult females (p = 0.0382), though total worm burden, worm length, and eggs per female did not change significantly. Infection was the main factor associated with histopathological changes, including inflammatory infiltration and increased mucosal thickness. Although ZnO supplementation did not significantly alter the cumulative histopathological score, supplemented lambs showed a lower frequency of severe lesions and less mucous cell atrophy. ZnO-MC showed increased PAS reactivity (p = 0.0346), whereas ZnO-NP showed the lowest PAS reactivity. Infection also increased eosinophil and globular leukocyte counts, with ZnO-MC associated with higher eosinophil counts (p = 0.0469) and ZnO-NP with higher globular leukocyte counts (p = 0.0263). Overall, ZnO supplementation, mainly ZnO-NP, may contribute to modulating the local immune response and partially preserving abomasal mucosa integrity during H. contortus infection in lambs, representing a useful supportive nutritional measure within integrated control programs for haemonchosis in sheep.

This study investigated long-term gastrointestinal parasite egg shedding in a semi-feral Misaki horse population using 3200 fecal samples collected from 158 individually identified horses during five fiscal years (FY2019-FY2023; April 2019-March 2024). Strongyle-type eggs were detected in 91.7% of samples (2935/3200), with a mean count of 1352 eggs per gram (EPG). Repeated-measures analyses showed marked variation associated with fiscal year, season, age, and management history. Strongyle-type EPG values were generally higher in spring and summer than in autumn and winter, with the month-level pattern reaching its highest level around September. In an exact-date-of-birth analysis of 181 samples from 49 foals, EPG increased markedly after 3 months of age; this age association remained evident after adjustment for season, although age and seasonal exposure were strongly imbalanced. Among females with an identifiable previous treatment date, EPG differed across treatment intervals, but treatment timing was structurally linked to the annual late-September/early-October roundup and season and was therefore interpreted as a management-associated pattern rather than an independent treatment effect. Population-level climatic analyses showed that contemporaneous temperature was associated with strongyle-type EPG, although this association could not be distinguished from the recurring seasonal pattern in egg shedding; precipitation was not significant after joint adjustment and two-way clustering by horse and month-year. Parascaris spp. and Strongyloides spp. eggs were detected in 2.6% and 0.3% of samples, respectively, and were concentrated in younger horses. These findings provide a longitudinal characterization of parasite egg-shedding dynamics in an individually identified semi-feral horse population while highlighting the importance of age, season, repeated sampling, and management structure in interpretation.

Understanding within-flock variation in parasite exposure can underpin more targeted and sustainable control strategies. However, for Fasciola hepatica, the extent and drivers of such variation remain poorly understood, despite transmission requiring an intermediate host snail and therefore being inherently heterogeneous within grazing environments. This study investigated whether faecal plant DNA metabarcoding could identify dietary signatures associated with recent F. hepatica exposure in first-season grazing lambs. A total of 157 lambs from two commercial sheep farms in Wales, grazing land containing G. truncatula populations were screened using serum antibody ELISA, coproantigen ELISA and faecal egg counts. Nineteen lambs (12.1%) were seropositive, while coproantigen and pooled faecal egg counts were negative, consistent with recent exposure. Faecal samples from 17 seropositive and 19 seronegative lambs were analysed using complementary chloroplast trnL and rbcL metabarcoding markers via MinIon sequencing. Plant assemblage composition was strongly structured by farm, with F. hepatica status significantly associated with trnL community composition at both genus (R[2] = 0.059, p = 0.049) and family (R[2] = 0.073, p = 0.035) levels. Indicator taxon analysis identified Lolium, Ranunculus and Trifolium among taxa associated with F. hepatica positive lambs, whereas Corylus, Carpinus and Mentha were associated with F. hepatica negative lambs. These findings suggest that recent F. hepatica exposure is associated with distinct dietary signatures and that individual variation in forage and habitat use may contribute to heterogeneous exposure within flocks.

Gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infection in sheep is a major cause of production losses, and the inappropriate use of anthelmintics has promoted drug resistance and environmental contamination, highlighting the need for alternative control strategies. Copy number variations (CNVs) are important structural variations that can influence gene expression, adaptation, and disease susceptibility. Therefore, this study detected copy number variation regions (CNVRs) in resistant, resilient, and susceptible Santa Ines sheep, and identified genes associated with resistance to GIN. The estimated breeding values of 573 genotyped animals for packed cell volume, fecal egg count, and FAMACHA© score obtained with single-trait animal models were used in cluster analysis to identify resistant, resilient, and susceptible animals based on the additive genetic pattern of each trait. CNVs were detected using PennCNV v1.0.5 and CNVRs were inferred by concatenation of individual CNVs. The resistant, resilient, and susceptible clusters contained 93, 172 and 197 CNVRs, respectively. The concatenation of CNVRs revealed 25 genomic regions shared among all three clusters, 43 genomic regions shared between the resilient and susceptible clusters, 18 genomic regions shared between the resistant and resilient clusters, and 16 genomic regions shared between the susceptible and resistant clusters. Concatenation also identified 34, 86 and 113 genomic regions exclusively in the resistant, resilient and susceptible clusters, respectively. Functional enrichment analysis revealed several terms related to immunity, inflammation, tissue repair, vesicular trafficking, and cell adhesion. This study contributes to improving our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie resistance, resilience, and susceptibility to GIN in sheep.

The Th17 immune response is a newly identified response that may play an important role in resistance to Haemonchus contortus (H. contortus) infection. Recombinant protein Hcftt-2 (rHcftt-2) has been shown to impart a degree of immunoprotection in infected goats and is capable of inducing a Th17 immune response. To identify the peptides primarily responsible for inducing the Th17 response, four peptides (Ftt-1, Ftt-2, Ftt-3, and Ftt-4) derived from rHcftt-2 were amplified and expressed. Our studies established that peptide Ftt-1 induces goat PBMCs to secrete IL‑17 in vitro by activating STAT3/RORγt at the transcriptional level. Flow cytometric analysis of splenocytes revealed that subcutaneous immunization of BALB/c mice with PLGA-encapsulated Ftt-1 peptide (50 μg) for 2-3 weeks significantly enhanced splenic Th17 cell populations in vivo. ELISA quantification confirmed that peptide Ftt-1 treatment markedly elevated serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-17) and Th1-type cytokines (IFN-γ and IL-12) in mice from 1 to 6 weeks post-treatment, while significantly suppressing the typical Th2-type and Treg-type cytokines IL-4 and TGF-β. Furthermore, significant elevation of IL-17, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, and IL-12 levels, as well as suppression of IL-4 and TGF-β, was observed in goats following two subcutaneous immunizations with PLGA-encapsulated Ftt-1 peptide (500 μg). Necropsy performed five weeks after the oral challenge of goats with 6000 infective third-stage larvae (iL3s) of H. contortus showed a 35.85% reduction in worm burden and a 58.26% reduction in mean fecal egg count (FEC). Our study indicates that Ftt-1 mediates Th17 immune responses, providing partial immune protection against H. contortus infection in goats.

The resurgence of tick-borne diseases remains a global concern, hindering livestock production across southern Africa and resulting in significant economic losses and threatening the livelihoods of small-scale farmers through reduced yields, higher treatment costs, and increased livestock mortality. This review synthesizes evidence on the genetic characterization, distribution, and epidemiology of ticks and tick-borne pathogens affecting domestic ruminants (cattle, goats, and sheep) in southern Africa. A search for peer-reviewed articles published between 2016 and 2025 was conducted across three electronic databases, and 21 studies met the inclusion criteria. Across the region, 28 tick species from six genera were reported, and Zimbabwe recorded the highest tick species richness, with the genus Rhipicephalus showing the highest species diversity. Otobius megnini was reported only in Lesotho, while several tick species were restricted and exclusive to South African cattle. Molecular screening showed that Ehrlichia ruminantium was the most frequently reported pathogen in cattle, with prevalence ranging from 29% in South Africa to 34% in Angola. Other important pathogens included Anaplasma spp., reported at 51% prevalence in goats in Lesotho, and C. burnetii, at 10% prevalence in cattle in South Africa. Piroplasm Babesia and Theileria spp. were also detected, although Theileria spp. were underreported, suggesting limited diagnostic sensitivity or a lack of transovarial transmission. Overall, this review reveals spatial distribution patterns and host-tick interactions, highlighting the need for an updated species checklist, improved surveillance, and stronger molecular diagnostic capacity to inform effective tick control and reduce the burden of tick-borne diseases while protecting livestock health across southern Africa.

Toxoplasma gondii mainly relies on feline-shed oocysts for environmental transmission, making the blockade of oocyst shedding an effective strategy for toxoplasmosis control. Although cilia- and flagella-associated proteins (CFAPs) are essential for flagellar assembly, maturation, and motility in mammalian male gametes, their biological roles and transmission-blocking vaccine potential in apicomplexan parasites remain unexplored. Here, we identified CFAP221 as a sexual stage-exclusive antigen of T. gondii. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of CFAP221 did not affect tachyzoite growth or mouse virulence, but completely abolished oocyst shedding in cats, confirming its involvement in sexual development. To assess vaccine efficacy, cats were immunized with developmentally defective Δcfap221 tachyzoites or recombinant CFAP221 (rCFAP221) subunit vaccines. Comprehensive physical, hematological, and biochemical monitoring confirmed that all vaccine candidates were safe and well tolerated in cats. Upon oral challenge with PRU tissue cysts, daily fecal output was monitored from day 2 post-challenge for two weeks. Δcfap221 immunization reduced oocyst shedding by 70%, while unadjuvanted rCFAP221 decreased oocyst output by over 90%. Remarkably, adjuvanted rCFAP221 achieved complete blockage of oocyst shedding. These findings indicate CFAP221 as a highly promising transmission-blocking vaccine candidate against T. gondii.

This open-label, uncontrolled field study evaluated the efficacy and safety of a topical combination of esafoxolaner, eprinomectin, and praziquantel (at minimum doses of 1.4 mg/kg, 0.5 mg/kg, and 5 mg/kg, respectively) for the treatment of natural infestations with Lynxacarus radovskyi in 16 privately owned cats. Cats were recruited from three veterinary clinics based on inclusion criteria requiring confirmed L. radovskyi infestation and clinically healthy, with the exception of varying degrees of infestation-associated dermatological signs, including pruritus, alopecia, and scaling, were present at enrollment. All cats received a single topical treatment and served as their own controls; no negative untreated control group was included. Parasitological efficacy was assessed using semi-quantitative mite scoring, and clinical response was evaluated using lesion scores for pruritus, alopecia, and desquamation on Days 0, 15, and 30. The topical esafoxolaner treatment demonstrated 100% parasitological efficacy, with all cats free of detectable mites by Day 30 using semi-quantitative counting. Clinical signs improved markedly during the study period, and no adverse events were observed.

Cyathostomin nematodes are ubiquitous in grazing horses. The overuse of anthelmintics has led to increasing problems with drug resistance to benzimidazoles and pyrantel. Although macrocyclic lactones (ML), such as ivermectin, generally retain the highest efficacy, reduced ML efficacy has increasingly been reported. A shortened egg reappearance period (ERP) is frequently used as an indicator of reduced susceptibility. However, the species-specific response dynamics after ivermectin treatment are inadequately characterized in cyathostomins. The objective of this study was to compare the cyathostomin community composition before ivermectin treatment and at egg reappearance (ER). We used an ITS2 rDNA metabarcoding protocol followed by next-generation sequencing. Samples were collected from 35 horses before ivermectin treatment and 11 at ER on Swedish farms. DNA was extracted from L3 larval cultures, and the nematode community was sequenced using the PacBio platform. Species identification was based on amplicon sequence variants using a curated ITS2 reference database and BLAST verification. Statistical analyses were conducted to evaluate species richness, alpha diversity indices and their correlation with fecal egg count (FEC) and horse age. Ivermectin treatment was 100% effective, and treatment did not alter the species richness (median four species at week 0 and three at ER, p = 0.71) or two alpha diversity indices at ER (Inverse Simpson, p = 0.41; Shannon-Weiner, p = 0.29). Cylicocyclus nassatus and Cyathostomum catinatum were the two dominant species both before treatment and at ER (weeks 6-8). Minor shifts in the relative abundance of less prevalent species were observed at ER. In pre-treatment samples, no statistically significant associations were detected between species richness and either FEC or species richness and age. The species Cylicocyclus insigne was not detected at ER after ivermectin treatment. At egg reappearance following FEC-based ivermectin treatment, cyathostomin species richness and alpha diversity did not differ detectably from pretreatment.

Toxoplasma gondii infection is associated with intestinal microbiome disruption, but its effects on genome-resolved bacterial populations, the gut virome, and bacteriome-virome relationships remain poorly understood. Using previously generated shotgun metagenomic datasets from 36 intestinal samples collected from 18 Sprague-Dawley rats across control, acute, and chronic infection groups, we reconstructed 294 quality-filtered, non-redundant bacterial metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) and identified 899 medium-to-high-quality viral operational taxonomic units (vOTUs) from assembled metagenomic contigs. Infection was associated with reduced bacterial richness in the small intestine during both acute and chronic stages and lower Shannon diversity during chronic infection. In contrast, large-intestinal α-diversity remained stable despite significant compositional reorganization. Taxonomic changes included increased Lactobacillus intestinalis, Limosilactobacillus reuteri, and Prevotella sp900547005, together with decreased Rothia sp002492045 and Akkermansia muciniphila. Functional profiling revealed region- and stage-specific changes in predicted bacterial metabolic potential, including reduced energy-related pathways and carbohydrate-active enzyme abundance. The virome also showed significant compositional changes in both intestinal regions. Quimbyviridae and Podoviridae_crAss-like viruses decreased in the small intestine during chronic infection, while Quimbyviridae, Flandersviridae, and Podoviridae_crAss-like viruses showed stage-specific decreases in the large intestine. Predicted bacterial hosts were assigned to 48.39% of vOTUs, with Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae being the most frequently linked families. Trans-kingdom networks further revealed region-specific positive and negative abundance correlations between bacterial and viral taxa. These findings extend previous microbiota-metabolome observations by integrating genome-resolved bacteriome analysis with contig-based virome profiling, providing a foundation for future mechanistic studies of toxoplasmosis-associated microbiome remodeling.

IgM detection is commonly employed for early diagnosis in human congenital toxoplasmosis. In small ruminants, accurate methods are needed to identify early foetal death (8-13 days post-infection), which often occurs without IgG seroconversion and parasite detection in the foetuses. The study aimed to develop and validate an ELISA based on lyophilized Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites to detect anti-T. gondii IgM antibodies (IgM-ELISA) for sheep sera following WOAH guidelines. Using IgM-Western Blot (IgM-WB) as a reference test, sera panels comprising 735 sera from sheep experimentally- and naturally-infected with either T. gondii or other abortifacient pathogens were used. The IgM-TgSALUVET-ELISA demonstrated successful analytical validation, showing excellent precision (CV < 5%), good accuracy (R[2] = 0.85-0.96) and analytical sensitivity (detection limit: DO = 0.1). While IgM-WB showed no cross-reactivity between T. gondii antigens and anti-Neospora caninum and anti-Chlamydia abortus antibodies, IgM ELISA yielded false positives. IgM kinetics analyses in T. gondii experimentally-infected sheep enabled early diagnosis capability of IgM-ELISA and IgM-WB, detecting IgM immunoglobulins at 10 and 13 dpi, aligning with the early abortion timeframe. The IgM-ELISA achieved 84% diagnostic sensitivity, 83.9% specificity, AUC = 0.88, and substantial agreement with IgM-WB (Kappa = 0.61). Field investigations based on paired and sequential IgM/IgG comparisons suggest the IgM detection is useful as a marker of recent T. gondii infection after excluding other abortifacient pathogens. However, prolonged anti-T. gondii IgM persistence may complicate the interpretation of results. In sum, the IgM-ELISA test showed good performance under the conditions tested, although potential interferences limit its use as a stand-alone assay. Therefore, a sequential diagnostic approach in the event of suspected foetal death during early T. gondii infection in a flock is proposed.